This month, officials with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals found three cases of salmonella in the state of Louisiana—cases that are potentially part of a 27-state outbreak that has already made close to 300 people sick. Specifically, the cases were in the northeast and northwest Baton Rouge area (as well as out of state in Mississippi, Arizona, and California), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The outbreak is suspected to be linked to Limited Edition cucumbers (also referred to as “slicer” or “American” cucumbers) that originated in Mexico. Louisiana’s health department began contacting national companies with outlets in Louisiana once they received notification of the outbreak on September 4th. Louisiana outlets known to have disposed of the cucumbers and/or on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recall list of chains included Red Lobster and Whole Foods, and produce chain Andrew & Williamson voluntarily recalled its cucumbers and is working with health officials to determine if its products are the source of the outbreak. Health officials are suggesting that if consumers are unsure about any cucumbers they have purchased, to be cautious and throw them out.
More on the Product & Salmonella
Limited Edition cucumbers tend to be dark green in color, with a length of seven to 10 inches, and sold in bulk display versus individual packaging.
Salmonella can have serious (and sometimes fatal) consequences, particularly in children and others with weaker immune systems. Salmonella symptoms often include diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Sometimes the organism can get into the bloodstream and produce other, even more severe illnesses, such as endocarditis, arterial infections, and arthritis.
Food Poisoning Lawsuits
There are various types of liability and injury lawsuits for food poisoning. Specifically, anyone who is injured (made ill, etc.) by consuming a product from a restaurant or grocery store may have a claim for negligence. Specifically, any outlets that have been placed on notice of the outbreak and advised to get rid of the product, and fail to, are arguably failing to exercise reasonable care. In addition, in some food poisoning cases, it can be shown that the food was unreasonably dangerous, and a business can be held strictly liable for serving that product, knowing that it was contaminated. This also includes the product distributor who provided the product to the restaurant or grocery store outlet, as well as retail, food service companies, wholesalers, and brokers.
Harrell & Nowak Can Provide Assistance
Personal injuries happen all the time simply because some else was careless in what they did or how they acted. And many of these personal injuries could have been prevented by the person simply taking reasonable and common sense steps.
The personal injury attorneys at Harrell & Nowak have helped many victims in New Orleans, Kenner, Metairie, and throughout Louisiana obtain financial compensation for their injuries. Our personal injury lawyers will work to ensure that your rights are protected and that you receive a fair recovery if your injury has been caused by some else being irresponsible.